Selling knives privately and auction houses in UK?

[BrewkitAndBasha]

Hello,
I have been going through a lot of informative threads to research about selling knives privately in the UK.
I have about 6 or 7 knives in an attic, accumulated over a lifetime and a previous career. My favourite airline has told me I may no longer carry them in hold baggage, which is new to me and contradicts their website info on restricted items, and so I need to part company with them.
How would the ID check work if these were collected by a buyer? Do I need a signature on a special form or just a look at their passport or driver license?
It seems it's very hard to post/courier them within UK (am still seeking options on that and trawling through threads where it's been debated).

I have three kukris (a full tang Indian Army one, a Cold Steel Gurkha Light and a Nepalese Army one).
A well-used Martindale Golok.
An unused US pilot survival knife and a few other smaller blades, all of which need a new home.

My time in UK is very limited in August so I was thinking of using an auction house to sell them - has anyone used one they would recommend? I have found about half a dozen online but if there are folks out there with good experiences, I would be happy and grateful to hear from you.

Many thanks if you can kindly assist?

 

[C_Claycomb]

I would be very suspicious of a verbal assertion that they will not carry in hold luggage when their written rules state that they do. I would certainly not embark upon a time consuming quest to sell off kit that has rather low re-sale value on that basis alone.

You have a full membership here, so you can post stuff for sale and see where it goes in the way of getting it to people. You could contact Colin Cooper
https://www.customknife.co.uk/about-us, see if he would be interested in any. The Golok isn't likely to be worth the trouble.

 

[BrewkitAndBasha]

I would be very suspicious of a verbal assertion that they will not carry in hold luggage when their written rules state that they do. I would certainly not embark upon a time consuming quest to sell off kit that has rather low re-sale value on that basis alone.

You have a full membership here, so you can post stuff for sale and see where it goes in the way of getting it to people. You could contact Colin Cooper
https://www.customknife.co.uk/about-us, see if he would be interested in any. The Golok isn't likely to be worth the trouble.

Thank you for this and the link to Colin Cooper's site.

The airline just notified me that they are not sure if the change is new but simply acting on what their Ops Team stated.

I don't expect much for the whole collection. I suspect they are all still legal, despite the rather blurred definitions out there in the new laws, I just hate the idea of it all being melted down - although I am never in UK whenever there's an amnesty - and I simply need to get rid of them all with as little hassle as possible. I never use them now, they have done their job and they hold no interest, practical or sentimental value to me.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Where abouts, roughly, in the UK are you when you are in the UK?

Curious, who the airline is, and how do they know to contact you about something you might be carrying in the hold?

 

[Billy-o]

That doesn't sound right, the thing about not allowing a knife in your hold luggage. Doesn't mean it's not right, just doesn't sound right.

 

[BrewkitAndBasha]

That doesn't sound right, the thing about not allowing a knife in your hold luggage. Doesn't mean it's not right, just doesn't sound right.

Yep, it sounds like an 'easy option' answer from them quite frankly. I asked them well in advance, as I have done on previous trips, as I don't want to risk having stuff confiscated after checking in. This year's response certainly surprised me, as they've usually been fine in the past.

Anyway, I guess I'll put the lot into an amnesty bin after further thought, and try to claim some compensation, as it's likely to be too much of a hassle for me to sell them.

 

[Stew]

Yep, it sounds like an 'easy option' answer from them quite frankly. I asked them well in advance, as I have done on previous trips, as I don't want to risk having stuff confiscated after checking in. This year's response certainly surprised me, as they've usually been fine in the past.

Anyway, I guess I'll put the lot into an amnesty bin after further thought, and try to claim some compensation, as it's likely to be too much of a hassle for me to sell them.

You can’t put them in a bin then try claim compensation after. There’s not actually a scheme for compensation at the moment anyway.

Where abouts in the uk are the knives now?

 

[BrewkitAndBasha]

You can’t put them in a bin then try claim compensation after. There’s not actually a scheme for compensation at the moment anyway.

Where abouts in the uk are the knives now?

Fair enough, I'll forget the compo then.

Cotswolds.

 

[Stew]

Fair enough, I'll forget the compo then.

Cotswolds.

Cotswolds is a reasonable location that folk could get to you to pick up rather than having to post. You could try listing them for sale and see what happens.

 

[slowworm]

To answer the auction side of things you often see kukris, machettes and loads of kitchen knives etc for sale in most of the local house clearance type auction houses.

You can find a local one here: https://www.easyliveauction.com and see what they've previously sold. I expect they take the responsibility of age checking as they sell the items and pass on the money, minus commission and fees, to you.I

But, as you say, it may not be worth the trouble.

 

[BrewkitAndBasha]

Cotswolds is a reasonable location that folk could get to you to pick up rather than having to post. You could try listing them for sale and see what happens.

I'll think it over.

 

[Chris]

Regarding verifying ID, it's completely up to you. I would probably just ask to see a driving license or something if I had any doubt that the person was 18 or over.

You can't break the law with regards to underage knife sales if they aren't underage. If they're not very clearly an adult, then proof of ID is all that is needed. Royal Mail age verification will do this for you if you want to sell via post.

 

[BrewkitAndBasha]

To answer the auction side of things you often see kukris, machettes and loads of kitchen knives etc for sale in most of the local house clearance type auction houses.

You can find a local one here: https://www.easyliveauction.com and see what they've previously sold. I expect they take the responsibility of age checking as they sell the items and pass on the money, minus commission and fees, to you.I

But, as you say, it may not be worth the trouble.

Thanks Slowworm, I've saved several auction houses and am planning to contact them. I only have a limited time in UK, with other plans afoot and finding the auction house and courier etc. to support all this may become a focus I don't need during my stay. I'm in the early stages of addressing it all as other factors for my trip have caused it all to happen a bit last-minute, but the whole collection probably won't get much more than about 50 quid, if that, so I am looking for an easy fix - ie; hand them in and be done with it for good!

 

[BrewkitAndBasha]

Regarding verifying ID, it's completely up to you. I would probably just ask to see a driving license or something if I had any doubt that the person was 18 or over.

You can't break the law with regards to underage knife sales if they aren't underage. If they're not very clearly an adult, then proof of ID is all that is needed. Royal Mail age verification will do this for you if you want to sell via post.

Thanks Chris, I had rather imagined it was all a bit more laborious than that, but it sounds quite straight forward.

 

[BrewkitAndBasha]

Thanks everyone for your inputs here. Very much appreciated.

 

[Broch]

Under the compensation scheme a qualifying blade has a minimum value of £10

 

[Stew]

Under the compensation scheme a qualifying blade has a minimum value of £10

To be more complicated, when it starts you will have to put £30 worth of claim in at a time so you can’t get a £10 knife compensation on its own.

You can still put one £100 knife to get a tenner though.

 

[Broch]

To be more complicated, when it starts you will have to put £30 worth of claim in at a time so you can’t get a £10 knife compensation on its own.

You can still put one £100 knife to get a tenner though.

If you can prove it's worth more you can submit a higher claim.

 

[MikeeMiracle]

You can sell bladed item in Facebook, I would recommend the Bushcraft UK Tradepost group, I frequently see knives for sale there. https://www.facebook.com/groups/bushcrafttradepostuk

 

[just_john]

I have the address for a very good amnesty bin for you. It just happens to be behind my letterbox, I can send you the details bo worries!!

Why don't you advertise them here and send age tracked postage. There's plenty of established posters here that like to buys sharps and I've shown id to buy and making sure you use age tracked postage ensures your not selling to kiddies